a nearby tote. “There was an accident at the event. Something about a clumsy boy and some boxes. I’m not entirely certain how it all happened, but you hit your head hard, and you’ve been in a coma for a few weeks.”
“Weeks?” She gasped. In a weird way that almost made sense. “I…” She swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
“I’m so sorry,” Lorelei told her. “I’ll go get a nurse. The doctor will want to check on you now that you’re awake. I’ll also call your parents. You know how your mama frets.”
She was out of the room before Anya could stop her. Her mother meant well, but she could be difficult. She’d rather her mother stayed away until she was able to acclimate to her surroundings. It all had seemed so real, but she’d been in a coma the entire time. How had she imagined it all? They were all people she hadn’t known and had not even heard their names before her weird coma induced dream. Though there had been one person there she’d met previously—Lady Vivian. Perhaps she should explore that. It could be that Lady Vivian had mentioned some of the individuals from her dream.
“I hear someone is awake,” a woman said as she entered the room. She wore green scrubs and had a stethoscope around her neck. Her ebony locks were pulled back into a ponytail and she had eyes so blue they were almost eerie. “I’m your nurse. You can call me Sara.”
“Hello,” Anya said a little apprehensively. The nurse was way too perky. “When can I leave?”
She chuckled lightly. “You woke up a little while ago. I’m not so certain you’re leaving until the doctor has a chance to check on you. You’re here at the very least until tomorrow when he does his rounds.”
Anya didn’t want to wait that long. She hated hospitals, and she wanted to be home, and crawl into her own bed. Maybe once she was there she’d find it comforting and she could forget the trauma of living someone else’s life. A bang echoed through the room, and she jumped from the sound.
“Easy,” Sara said soothingly as she placed her hand on Anya’s shoulder. “Someone dropped a metal tray. It happens.”
Her hand shook a little as she lifted it to Sara’s and removed it from her shoulder. She didn’t want her comfort. It felt wrong somehow. Everything inside of her screamed as if something was missing and she could never find it again. If she closed her eyes she could see Dierk pointing his gun at her and squeezing the trigger. It had seemed so real and the pain…it had been equally intense. Almost as if she had actually felt it as she bled out on the pavement. If it had really happened though…then both Arthur and Ana were dead. Somehow she’d survived, but they would still be gone forever. That hurt more than she liked. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes but she swallowed the agony. Now was not the time to give in to her emotional chaos. “I’m all right.” She glanced away not wanting the nurse to see how unsettled that sound had actually made her. It had reminded her of the gunshot, and it had been almost as if that pain hit her again. It was like she had lived through that experience, and it hadn’t been the dream she believed it to be.
“I don’t believe you, but I’ll let you keep your secrets, for now,” Sara told her. “I’ll get your vitals and leave you in peace. I suspect your family will descend upon you soon enough. They’ve all been worried about you.”
She feared the nurse was right. “I’m sorry if they’ve been difficult.”
“Not at all.” Sara waved her hand. “They love you and that is always good to witness.” She gestured toward Anya’s wrist. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to check your pulse.”
Anya lifted her wrist. The sooner the nurse finished she’d leave. Of course, once her parents arrived, she wouldn’t have any peace for some time to come. She didn’t blame them. If she had a child and they were in a coma for weeks, she’d be worried too, and if she hadn’t been through a trauma she might be more sympathetic.
The nurse finished taking her vitals and wrote them down in the chart. “All done.” She smiled. “If you need anything, do not be afraid to call.”
“Thank you,” she said. Her throat was a little parched, but